LET’S TALK ABOUT WEDDING: EXTRAVAGANT OR SIMPLE CEREMONY

A wedding is my favorite topic of all time. It is not because I had the perfect wedding (everyone’s wedding is perfect by the way), it’s simply because wedding gives me the most wonderful feeling of being happy and beautiful. The beautiful sights of the entourage, the glamorous decorations, the handsome and beautiful couple. All of these including their love story makes me so happy. We all have different love stories, we all have different ups and downs in the relationship, but what we all have in common is that we love and we choose to blossom our love to our partners every day for the rest of our lives, through good and bad times, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer.

You’ll not be reading about my love story nor about my wedding. This is all about whether to splurge money on your wedding to make it the most extravagant one or to be practical about it. This post is for those who are deciding to tie the knot and are in the dilemma to whether to have an extravagant or a simple wedding. I hope that at the end of this post, I have served my purpose to enlighten you and your partner.

In America, millennials don't get married at their early age. Not because they don’t believe in love or commitment, but because they first want to be successful in their chosen career and of course there is the reason of economic or lack of financial foundation. Bentley University published an article about millennials refusing to get married, even Bustle published an article about it too and so does TIME. I believe, it is also the majority of reasons millennials are struggling here in the Philippines.

The reasons are mostly money, budget and the what-ifs of the future which is unknown. Yes, I know that getting married entails a big responsibility, I often call it “adulting101”. There are bills to be paid, mouth to feed, and if you have kids — good education to think about.

These days, wedding is a trend. It is like you are required to have out-of-town-on-the-beach-engagement or prenup shoots. That if you don’t have the kind of wedding like the celebrity has, you don’t have the perfect wedding. I am not judging anybody. I mean, we all have our different takes on how our wedding should be, and with that, it means we do have a budget.

Choosing to have an extravagant or simple wedding is really all up to the couple, not their parents or friends. It’s their sole decision. Actually, it is their first decision together as a soon-to-be-husband-and-wife. Because it is their money they are talking about, no matter how much each of them has on their bank account, it’s their first joint venture of spending for themselves. Other than the expenses of the wedding itself and the honeymoon, they also have to set aside money for their first months and coming years as a married couple.

My point is, whether you have an extravagant wedding or a simple one. It doesn’t matter, what matters are the happy memories you both shared together with your friends and families. It may be the most important event of your lives, but making healthy financial decisions will also lead you to a good financial life in the future.

I will leave you this quote from QuoteHD.com by Cate Williams:

“Whether you are hoping for an extravagant wedding or a simple ceremony, your special day should be filled with blissful memories. Being financially prepared will help make sure this day is one of the best days of your life. It is important to remember that while the wedding is an important event, it is designed to celebrate the start of a marriage. Making healthy financial decisions early will lead to a lifetime financial freedom and happiness together.”